Deepest Desires
by Trojan'12
Summary: The Mirror of Erised reveals Harry’s deepest desire, but shows Hermione as well. He leaves to finish off Voldemort’s horcruxes the summer before year 7. Hermione only needs one opportunity to tell him that she wants him too. Will their wishes come true?
1. Chapter 1

**JKR owns.**

**Deepest Desires**

Part One

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**[AN]**: This is one of the first ficlets I dreamed up many, many eons ago. That explains its randomness. ;]

You know the drill: ready, enjoy, review, feel good about yourself for reviewing, and repeat.

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Harry entered the dark cellar, wand drawn, and eyes ablaze- scanning the room desperately for the fifth horcrux.

They had heard from a reliable source that Lucius Malfoy, being the dark arts collector he was, had purchased a cursed staff from a dealer about a decade ago. Rumor has it, that staff was Rowena Ravenclaw's staff, and Voldemort's fifth horcrux.

That's what had driven Harry, and a few other trusted Order members to invade the Malfoy Manor that fateful night. As their luck would have it, Lucius had just returned home with a few of his Death Eater friends while Harry, Lupin, and Tonks were still on the first floor searching through rooms.

Tonks had tripped and knocked over a very expensive vase, which alerted the Death Eaters immediately.

There wasn't much time left.

Harry took a few steps forward, about to go searching through a large imposing wardrobe that rested on the far right of the room when something caught his eye.

Harry's mouth dropped open as he started to read the Latin script circling around the metal frame.

"The Mirror of Erised," he muttered, mesmerized by its presence. He thought that the mirror had been destroyed in his first year. But studying the mirror closer, he could see that there were a few differences that he hadn't remembered from the first time.

It looked a bit shabbier- almost daintier. The finish wasn't as impressive and the mirror looked to be as if it were some sort of remake.

He stepped fully in front of it, wanting to see if it held the same power as it once had, or at least the one he remembered.

Unbeknownst to Harry, he had just took a step that would change his life forever.

The shimmering mist started to settle and the figure of a person could be identified. A few moments later, Harry appeared.

He was less scrawny, and more clean shaven in the mirror. The scar above his left eye was nothing but a faint wrinkle.

The mirror Harry smiled down at the real Harry, before turning around and opening his arms wide.

Harry frowned, wondering what was happening. Then he saw it. He saw her. Or more importantly, her lips pressing against his.

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he watched the two images of himself and Hermione kiss each other passionately and then pull apart, only to stare lovingly at each other before leaning back into their embrace.

"Harry?" whispered a voice next to him.

Harry closed his eyes. This was a mistake… he knew even though he told her not to, she would have just followed him in as soon as he dipped his head into the pensieve.

The door to the Malfoy cellar blew open, and Harry watched as a beam of red light shot into his back, knocking him into the glass and rendering him unconscious.

That was the end. The memory faded and Harry pulled away, falling onto his back as he finally left his memory and entered back to his reality. He let out a mild groan and rubbed at his lower back, still feeling the pain inflicted by the stupefy from earlier that day. Thank Merlin for Tonks and Lupin, because together they successfully apparated Harry away from the place before the Death Eaters could do anything more substantial.

He was in the library at number twelve Grimmauld place now, with books and maps scattered around their central area. Harry and Hermione had decided to stay up late to see if they could get some extra work done on Ravenclaw's staff while the others were attending Bill Weasley's wedding rehearsal.

Hermione had made the suggestion that it'd be a good idea to go back into Harry's memory to double check if the staff was at the Malfoy's. Since Harry was slammed with a surprise curse, the details were all a bit foggy to him.

But now, thanks to that embarrassing recall, he remembered perfectly.

He heard a light thud on the other side of the pensieve. He didn't think he could bear hearing Hermione's objection to what they had witnessed. Quickly he stood and headed for the door.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione sputtered throwing the hair out of her face and standing up.

"Look Hermione, I'm really tired and I think I'll just go to bed," Harry said, not looking back at her.

"Harry-" He had reached out to grasp the door handle when it twisted and the door opened.

"Oh there you two are!" greeted Tonks's cheery voice.

"Whoa Tonks," Harry mumbled as the purple haired woman threw her arms around Harry's neck.

"I've missed you little buddy," she giggled, her nose changing from a pig's snout to a bird's beak.

Harry couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Um, okay…"

"Oh, sorry about that Harry," Lupin panted, jogging up to them and grabbing hold of Tonks's waist, "Someone had a few too many shots of fire whiskey tonight."

Tonks grinned proudly and pointed to herself, "They bet-tet-ed that I couldn't drink as many as them."

"Let me guess; Charlie, Fred, and George betted you that?"

"Yep," Tonks swayed and Lupin fumbled with her. Letting out a breath, he looked back to Hermione, "Do you think you could go up and help her change? I have a feeling if I were to go up there she wouldn't let me leave and I have to get going to the Shrieking Shack for tomorrow's full moon."

Hermione shot a desperate look to Harry but he refused to meet her gaze. She finally sighed, "Fine."

"Thank you." Lupin handed Tonks off to Hermione. The woman laughed hysterically as Hermione drug her out of the room.

Lupin let out a breath and smiled hopefully at Harry, "So? How's the research going?"

Harry gave him a blank stare before turning and walking out of the library, headed towards his room.

Lupin blew out another breath, "Not well I take it…"

…

Harry quietly closed his trunk inside his room at Grimmauld place. It had only been a day since their trip into the pensieve, and already Hermione was proving difficult in letting the memory be forgotten.

He'd had to avoid her all day. She was up, knocking on his bedroom door at the crack of dawn that morning, gently calling out his name, begging to be let in. However, Harry had played like he was asleep. Eventually, Tonks came along, complaining of a head ache and the explosions going off in the house. Harry used that as his opportunity to escape under his invisibility cloak; he apparated to the bathroom, where he knew he would at least have another hour our two of privacy.

Throughout the rest of the day, he had stayed close with Lupin and Tonks, trusting that Hermione wouldn't mention anything about it while they were around. She had her own humiliation to worry about too, you know. Lupin had found it odd, sure; usually Harry enjoyed having his independence around the house. He didn't want his father's last great friend to think that he was completely hopeless with Dumbledore gone. He wanted to show that he could be proven to get things done without an Order member's help. Of course, Lupin and Tonks weren't really sure _what _they were helping with. While Harry had revealed the truth of the horcruxes to Ron and Hermione last year, Dumbledore had implored him to not reveal the secret to anyone else. Even though he was gone now, Harry didn't think it was right for him to break the promise he'd made to his old headmaster.

Nevertheless, Lupin didn't comment on the atypical behavior Harry displayed today. There were a few confused looks shared between him and Tonks, but other than that, they stayed quiet and dutifully went about helping out with Harry's searching of west Scotland.

But it was nighttime now, and there was no one else he could hide behind. Harry could tell that Hermione was getting annoyed with him, and that was the reason for his quiet packing.

Harry had to leave. Day by day in this place, it was getting harder and harder to focus on the mission. Ron had been gone, staying with his family so far that summer. He thought that his hunt, and Tonks and Lupin staying at Grimmauld place too, would be distraction enough. But he was wrong.

Wherever he went, she was always there. And now that she knew the truth…

It was hard to keep pulling himself away from her advances. He wanted to be selfish; he wanted to give in and tell her the truth of what she'd seen in his memory, but he knew he couldn't do that to her. It wasn't fair. He… he would just have to deal with his feelings, and hope that Hermione would one day forget about what she saw in the Mirror. It was as simple as that. Well, it wasn't really, but for now, it had to be.

He needed to keep focused. For her… for the rest of the world. This was a mission that only he could finish, and the sooner he got it over with, the sooner everyone else could go back to living happily.

He finished zipping the duffle bag he had packed his few outfits into. After a quick shrinking spell, he slipped it gently into his pocket. Next he turned to Hedwig. He gave her an apologetic look, and then muttered, "_Silencio._"

The spell hit the cage without any noise, and the bird instantly glared at him. She never did like it when he did that to her.

Harry turned around in the room, glancing it over for anything he might've missed. He didn't have much time, but he couldn't help reminiscing over the memories this room had in it. He and Ron had stayed here two years ago when Harry first learned of Grimmauld Place… back when Sirius was alive, and Harry had yet to hear of any prophecy made about him. This was the place that he first realized that he like Hermione, as more than friends…

Harry grimaced at that particular thought. If only he had acted on his feelings earlier instead of being a rude git to her that year, then maybe he wouldn't be going through this right now. They could've had time together… he would never have even bothered to get over her with Cho. He never would've bothered to pay Ginny any attention, because if he'd had it his way, Hermione would've returned his feelings immediately, and they would've been together.

The what-if was making him sick to his stomach. He couldn't stand thinking of what a fool he'd been, or how much time he'd wasted. What happened to staying focused?

With a deep breath, Harry glanced around the room once more, before shrinking his trunk, swiping it off the ground, and heading to grab Hedwig's cage.

He closed his eyes, a firm grip on his owl's cage, and disapparated.

If only he would have lingered for a few extra seconds, he would have heard the soft pop of someone apparating into his room.

Hermione looked around for Harry after getting over the unsettling sensation she felt in her stomach every time she apparated. After a few minutes of searching the room, she declared it empty, and fell back onto Harry's bed with heavy tears flowing out of her eyes.

…

_**September 1**__**st**__**; 7**__**th**__** Year**_

Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express with as little enthusiasm she had ever remembered feeling while doing so. Usually, she was excited and quite eager to get back to the halls of Hogwarts, to once again stalk the library shelves, panic over seeing Ron and Harry play quidditch, and stay up late with them in the Gryffindor common room.

However, all of those feelings were gone ever since Harry disappeared.

She'd be lying to herself if she said that she was not hopeful to see him on the platform, smiling sheepishly at them and apologizing for his lack of contact. However, no such appearance happened. Hermione felt even more like she didn't belong there now. Hogwarts without Harry… well, it didn't seem like home. Harry felt like home, and now that he was gone, she might as well have been gone too. N.E.W.T.'s, being selected Head Girl… none of it mattered really.

She knew that Ron and Ginny were shooting worried looks at her from behind her back. But she didn't care. They had tried all summer to bring her out of her melancholy, but they had yet to succeed. She half wondered why they were still putting up with her. Especially Ron.

The other member of their trio had tried to talk to her about their supposed feelings for each another one evening at the Burrow, but Hermione had instantly quieted him on the issue. There were no longer any feelings. The memory of Harry pulling her into his arms and giving her a passionate kiss had made sure of that. Even though it hadn't really happened, she couldn't just forget about it.

She would never forget about it. She would never forget about him, either. Despite her gloominess, she held on to one optimistic hope:

One day, she knew, Harry would come back. He was going to defeat Voldemort. And when he came back to them, she was going to smack him over the head for leaving and not letting her know where she was. Once he was done apologizing with the sheepish grin she knew he would use, she would tell him that she loved him too.

Then he would kiss her, like he did in the mirror. Feverishly. Passionately. Lovingly.

At least, that's what _her _mirror showed her. That was, in the plainest definition, Hermione Granger's deepest desire.

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**Please consider leaving a review! Back tomorrow with Part II!**


	2. Chapter 2

**JKR owns.**

**Deepest Desires**

Part Two

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Harry glided along the halls of Hogwarts at a decent pace, hoping that the fluttering of his father's invisibility cloak over him wouldn't cause enough of a ruckus for any professor or student patrols to come out in query. He then reminded himself, with a bit of annoyance, that if this did happen, that he would know about it in plenty of time since the Marauder's Map was laid out over his broom handle, exhibiting each wake person in the castle. There wasn't a patrol for miles.

He was still somewhat nervous as he continued down the third floor, heading in the direction of the staircase, but also a tad irritated at the same time. Why hadn't someone thought to close up the one-eyed witch passageway? Did that few people really know about it? He'd have to write a note to Lupin and have him pass it on to Professor McGonagall or something…

But then, that was implying that he wouldn't be making any trips back here. Even though he knew that was for the best, he didn't want to bring himself to debate the issue right now. He was on a mission, and that mission specifically included one Hermione Granger. He grinned tenderly at the thought of her, but continued on, now in an air of anticipation more than anything else.

…

The ten minutes it took to reach the seventh floor, and the portrait of the Fat Lady, seemed like ten hours to him.

Once he was finally before the snoring painted woman, he pulled out his wand from inside his robes and whispered the jinx that Lupin had told him about a few weeks ago. Apparently, it was one his father had proudly invented. The Marauders had used it when they were out passed midnight for the full moon, for those every couple of months when the Fat Lady decided to reset herself.

Harry's whole plan was a product from learning of the brilliant little spell, _Assagio_.

Unbeknownst to the Fat Lady, her portrait swung open and admitted Harry in. With a smile and a whispered thanks, Harry sped off inside, clutching the cloak to him once more. He zoomed up the girls staircase without stalling to see the subtle differences made to the Gryffindor common room, as a result of the new school year.

Harry didn't really care about the nostalgias of being back in the castle. Really, he just cared about seeing Hermione.

He wondered if he had any right to be creeping up the stairs on broom, heading for her dormitory to see her again after three months of no communication. Would she be angry? Probably.

Would… would she still want to talk about that memory? With that, he wasn't so sure. A part of him wanted her to still be interested in knowing the truth, but the rational side of him called that part foolish. He shouldn't dredge up feelings like that when he probably wouldn't be around in the future to act on them…

His heart slowed to a frightening frigid pace as he reached the door of the Head Girl's dorm. He remembered the day he'd found out that she was Head Girl. Lupin had told him after coming from an Order meeting. Harry remembered smiling and muttering 'of course'. Hermione deserved that badge more than anyone he knew at Hogwarts. He hoped that she was enjoying it.

With a bated breath, he trained his wand on the old brass doorknob. He hoped that she wouldn't mind him breaking into her new private dorm too much.

"_Alohomora_," he whispered. The simple spell shot out of his wand and wrapped around the door knob. After a glowing second, there was a click, and the door cracked open.

He whispered a quick silencing charm over the door, in case it was a squeaker, before gently pushing it further open.

Harry couldn't describe the sight of seeing Hermione, sleeping soundly in her bed. A plethora of emotions suddenly washed over him as he floated forward on his broom. Happy, that she was still safe despite the chaos ensuing outside of the castle walls; relieved, that she had her own dorm, and that he wasn't sneaking in on any other girls; flushed, because he couldn't stop looking at her; creeped out, because he couldn't stop looking at her…

Harry sighed noisily, wishing the voices telling him that this was wrong would stop. He realized this was a risk, but what could he do about it now? He was here, wasn't he? Might as well get over any reservations he had about it… He knew, deep down, that he would've never forgiven himself if he missed this day.

As gracefully as he could, Harry turned on his Firebolt and waved the door close with his hand. He'd managed to get a hold on some of wandless magic while he'd been away, but was surprised that this simple command had worked given how his mind was in complete disarray.

The door silently clicked close as Harry tossed the cloak and map over his head. He lowered himself to the ground that was only a foot or two away, ready to dismount it.

As soon as his trainers touched the ground, Hermione flung the covers off her and shot up in bed. With her frazzled hair and wild eyes, she had her wand pointed directly at him. So much for sleeping soundly…

The Firebolt clattered to the ground as Harry slowly raised his hands into the air, his wand loosely gripped in an open palm on his right hand.

Hermione's eyes stretched even wider as she recognized him through the shadows.

"H-Harry?"

"Hermione…"

Her eyes narrowed as he began to lower his hands back down. She jabbed her wand at him threateningly, surprised that no sparks flew out, given her aggression.

"What's your patronus?" she asked briskly.

Harry swallowed, feeling like it was best if he kept his hands raised for now, "It's a stag, Hermione. Remember?"

"Of course I remember, but how do I know if you know?" she snapped back, offended that he had even asked.

Harry sighed, realizing what she was getting at, "My patronus is a stag. We saw it in its corporeal form together at the lake, the night we were trying to save Sirius in third year. I didn't come back to school this year, because I'm trying to find and destroy horcruxes under Dumbledore's orders. You were helping me do that… until I left…"

Harry stared timidly into Hermione's unnerved eyes. He couldn't tell whether she was believing him, getting angry, or about to run at him in joy of his return.

'_Probably not that_', he told himself after that last one. However, he wasn't so positive once Hermione made to move off her bed.

Without breaking eye contact with him, she slid off the bed and glided towards him, like she was in a trance of sorts. Harry didn't move as she stopped a couple inches away from him. After a minute of her silence, Harry started to try and calm his racing heart.

At least she wasn't hitting him, he thought dolefully.

Suddenly, Hermione's fist came out of nowhere and hit him over the ear.

"OW!" he yelped, dropping his wand and clutching the side of his head.

Even though she was barefoot, she slammed her heel down against the toe of his shoe next.

"Hey!" he exclaimed again, hopping up on one foot.

Hermione pretended not to hear him as she swatted him over the head.

"Hermione…" Harry bit out, now starting to get annoyed.

"Getting angry, Harry?" she asked spitefully, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Hermione…" Harry said again, this time more exasperated than annoyed. He again tried to hold his hands upward in a peaceful gesture, "Look, I know you're angry but can you at least stop hitting me so I can try and explain?"

For good measure, Hermione slapped him over the head, "Why?!"

"Why?" Harry repeated, cowering away from the blow. He never realized how strong she was…

"Why would I want your explanation?" Hermione asked, curling her fists and looking like she was preparing to strike once more, "What makes you think I'd be interested to hear your story?"

Harry paused at her questions. Hadn't he just been asking himself the same things? Obviously, the right he thought he had to see her wasn't shared on her end. Of course he should've known better…

Harry shifted back and forth on his feet, suddenly unable to meet her in the eye.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I-I just thought… well, I wanted to be the first to wish you happy birthday."

Harry could hear her breathing catch, and watched as she turned to glance at the clock on her bedside table.

12:13. Hermione was officially eighteen.

Slowly, she turned back to him, her lower lip caught in between her teeth, "Is that it?" she asked quietly. "Is that the only reason why you're here?"

Harry sighed, "Yes, Hermione. I'm not here to ask you to come back with me, or anything."

"So you've decided to just drop out of Hogwarts then?" she asked, the bitter tone back in her voice.

He nodded, waiting a few moments before chancing a look at her, "I'm sorry. I-I know you're disappointed with me…"

Since Hermione didn't protest, he went on just as shamefacedly, "I wish I could say a few words and make it all seem better, but it's just complicated. Finding the horcruxes is something _I_ need to do. Something I have to do by myself. It's not that I wouldn't love you and Ron with me, it's that, in the end, it comes down to me, and only me. You might as well stay here and finish your education."

"But I don't want to say here!" Hermione exclaimed, the protest Harry had been expecting finally bursting from her lips. "Don't I get a say? I want to help you, Harry!"

"You don't get a say in this," Harry muttered resolutely.

Hermione huffed, immediately turning on her heel and marching back towards her bed. Harry wondered if she realized that her childish antics, despite the situation, were cute to him.

He forced the thought out of his mind though, as he told himself to refocus. With a deep breath, he reached for something inside his robes.

He pulled out the little parcel and took a few cautious steps towards her sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I got you something," he said, holding out the wrapped object for her.

Hermione had been determined to stare sulkily into the corner of the room until Harry came to his senses and started telling her what he'd been up to. However, she hadn't expected this.

Despite her resolve to ignore him, she turned and moodily ripped the present out of his hand. She tore into it, not bothering to hide her interest. Her expression was still hard though, as she finally peeled away all the wrappings and opened the top of the flat square box.

She gasped as the shimmering bracelet caught her eyes. It was thin and delicate looking, held together by a thin band of silver. It was the small circular stones that gave way to the magic inside the bracelet. Each stone sparkled a different shade, glinting perfectly in the moonlight, before the colors all seemed to rearrange themselves into a new display of splendor.

Hermione glanced up to him a few moments later, her eyes naturally softer, "Harry… it's gorgeous. Wherever did you find it?" All hostility she had felt a few minutes ago seemed to completely vanish as she stared on at him with intrigued eyes.

Harry smiled, coming forward to sit next to her on the bed, "It was my mum's."

"You mean you've gone to Godric's Hollow?" Hermione questioned him eagerly.

Hesitantly, Harry nodded, "Yeah, I went there for some research. They had a lot of neat stuff in the house still. Stuff that hadn't been destroyed."

"I would have gone with you…" Hermione trailed off, gently laying a hand over his. She had always thought that she'd be there for him when he made his first trip to his parents graves, and the house he had lost his family in. She could only imagine how he handled it alone…

Harry glanced down to her hand on his. Again, he was torn between what he should do. Should he flip his hand over and lace his fingers through hers? Or brush it off, and stuff his hands in his pocket?

He cleared his throat awkwardly after a few silent moments, opting to just do nothing for now. He'd let her make the first move… if this situation even justified it as a 'move'.

"I think it was something I needed to do by myself. Lupin offered too."

Hermione simply nodded, surprisingly understanding for the mood she had been in only a few short minutes ago. "I hope you got everything you wanted out of it," she said, squeezing the top of his hand.

Harry nodded jerkily, more concerned with her touch than how considerate and lovely she sounded. That was the Hermione he always knew.

"Um, anyway I hope you like it," he muttered, forcing his eyes away from their hands.

"Harry, maybe you should keep this. It was your mother's…"

Harry quickly shook his head, "No, I want you to have it. As soon as I saw it in my mum's old jewelry box, I knew it would be perfect for you."

Hermione nodded, obviously pleased. She turned to stare back at the bracelet, her bottom lip trapped once more between her white teeth. Harry was getting too lost in her… he thought he could stare at that lip for hours and not get bored-

"That's sweet that you thought of me today," Hermione whispered timidly, still looking down at the bracelet, but only to avoid looking into his eyes.

Harry shrugged, "I think of you everyday."

He was surprised to hear her scoff next, "Is that why you don't write or make any contact?" The glare was back, pulling him out of his uncontrolled, Hermione-crazed, abandon. Suddenly he remembered the boundaries he had set for himself.

"I didn't want to put you at risk," he answered her simply.

She rolled her eyes, setting aside the gift of peace, and turning her burning glare back on him, "But you can put Lupin and other Order members at risk?" she asked dangerously, before her hard look flickered to show the desperation behind her front, "It's been three months Harry! Do you have any idea how hard it is to go from seeing your face every day to just not having you there?"

"Yeah, I do," Harry answered her again. Their respective glares spoke for them as they stared into each others eyes. A sigh rumbled through his chest a couple moments later, "Nothing's changed, Hermione."

"A lot's changed," Hermione argued.

"I was talking about how I feel about you…" he trailed off quietly, wondering if he

was doing something good, or digging a deeper hole for himself by telling her this.

The glare immediately vanished from her features. "Oh," she mumbled, a rosy blush appearing on her cheeks. She shifted in her spot on the bed, turning her eyes down to the uninteresting pattern of her duvet as she went on, "You know, you never did clarify on that…"

Harry also shifted, "I thought it was obvious after that day at Grimmauld."

"Seeing it through a mirror and hearing it from you are two different things," Hermione said, disagreeing with him, "And the way you refused to explain things after had me thinking that I had imagined what the mirror showed."

"You're telling me you weren't freaked out by what you saw in the mirror?" Harry asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Hermione looked up at him meekly and shrugged, "I was a bit shocked. But it wasn't a bad shock- it was a pleasant shock."

"Really?" Harry whispered, his heart suddenly beating ten times faster, "Because I've been feeling this for a while now."

"Feeling what exactly?" Hermione asked, her voice also itching with anticipation.

Harry let out a breath as he dived face first over the edge rational thinking, and soared towards the pool of reckless abandon. "This uncontrollable desire to touch you…" he muttered, his cheeks automatically flaming red, "And it's always followed by this sinking feeling in my chest because I know it'll never be as perfect as that."

Hermione frowned instantly, "I don't get it- you want to be with me but you don't?"

Harry sighed, shaking his head. He'd had enough trouble explaining this one to himself. He had no idea how he would properly articulate it into words.

"No. I want to… but we can't."

Hermione bit her lip, trying to hedge down the tear pricks, "After the war, could we be together?" she asked in a desperate whisper.

Harry shook his head, "It'll never be over Hermione. For you eventually, but not for me."

"You don't have to talk like all hope is lost. You have the power to defeat him," Hermione told him, slightly irritably.

Harry realized that she was trying to rub her confidence off on him, but it was no good. He'd spent countless nights awake, wondering over the minute possibility he had to win, and the facts were that that possibility just wasn't large enough to overcome the opposing threat. He'd come to terms with it.

"I'm not good enough, at least not to take Riddle by myself. You know me Hermione, I usually need you or the help of someone else to get me out of trouble. This time there's just no one to turn to."

"I'm here!" she practically cried, lurching forward to grab onto his shoulders, "You don't have to leave me behind. If I remember correctly, there was a time when you promised you would never leave me behind."

Harry sighed. The guilt trip wouldn't work on him, "I never wanted to have to leave you. But we both know I'll have to say goodbye sooner or later."

Hermione fell backwards once more, tears now obviously shining at the edge of her eyes. He didn't want to have to see her cry, knowing it was his fault, but he didn't see any other way around their predicament. She wasn't going back with him. She'd just have to accept defeat. On both parts.

"Can't you stay longer?" she asked moments later, her whisper barely audible.

Harry sighed, forcing himself to refrain from immediately shouting yes. "I-I don't think it's a good idea," he muttered, looking away from her eyes, "If I stay… it'll just be harder to leave."

"Harry?" she asked next, the shy tone back in her now thick voice, "You never did give me a proper goodbye last time…"

At that, his eyes shot up to hers. He didn't need any clarification as to what she meant.

"You don't know if you can give us a future. But we can at least have this one night."

Harry watched on, his resolve slowly crumbling, as her hand glided back towards his. Something broke in him as soon as her fingertips touched his. He gave up the fight as soon as he looked back into her eyes.

Slowly, they leaned in to each other, and pressed their lips together. As they pulled apart, his eyes glanced up to hers.

"You know… doing this… it'll only make it harder to forget me."

Hermione shook her head, scooting closer to him on the bed, "That's where you make the mistake thinking I want to forget you."

"It'd be easier if you did," Harry argued, his voice breaking as she wrapped her arms around his neck and let one slim leg rest over his lap.

"I disagree."

"You always were way too argumentative for your own good."

"I understand you know," Hermione spoke quietly after a few second's pause. Her tone surprised him, and Harry turned to look at her attentively. "I understand why you're doing what you're doing," she explained, letting one hand brush over the hair at the nape of his neck, "And even though I don't like it, I know you're doing it for me."

A tear spilled over, but Harry brushed it away before it could even make her chin.

"No more talking," he barely whispered before his lips came back over hers. Hermione kissed him back with all her might, wanting to show him the inexplicable love she felt for him, while knowing what little time she had to do it in.

---


End file.
